Friday, September 24, 2004
Sports: From the Gridiron to the Battlefield
Captain Frank Myers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in a letter to Alabama head football coach Mike Shula:
Before the Sept. 11, Texas-Arkansas game, walk-on RB Ahmard Hall led the Longhorns on to the field with the Amereican flag. Hall is a vteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, who is attending UT on his GI Bill. After college he'll serve two more years in the service, but before he returns to the battlefield, he'll compete for playing time on the Forty Acres. Now I haven't met Mr. Hall, but I get the feeling that he would agree with Captain Myers. College football is one of the great traditions that makes America what we are, and letters like the one above reinforce that.
Captain Myers, I'd just like to say two things to you, sir: Thank you and Roll Tide!
(link via Scott Elliott)
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What we are doing here is very serious and important, but what you are doing there is important also. For we do not only fight to free other people from oppression, we fight to protect what we love about America. College football is part of what we love. That’s why the soldiers seem so happy now that their beloved teams are playing. It reminds us of the good, fun things about our country we love so much.Excellent read.
I’m not saying college football is as important as fighting a war. After all, while a 19 year-old kid in Bryant-Deny stadium was returning an interception for a touchdown, a 19-year-old kid in Baghdad was returning small arms fire. I’m simply writing to make sure you know that what you’re doing really lifts our spirits. You have definitely lifted mine.
Before the Sept. 11, Texas-Arkansas game, walk-on RB Ahmard Hall led the Longhorns on to the field with the Amereican flag. Hall is a vteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, who is attending UT on his GI Bill. After college he'll serve two more years in the service, but before he returns to the battlefield, he'll compete for playing time on the Forty Acres. Now I haven't met Mr. Hall, but I get the feeling that he would agree with Captain Myers. College football is one of the great traditions that makes America what we are, and letters like the one above reinforce that.
Captain Myers, I'd just like to say two things to you, sir: Thank you and Roll Tide!
(link via Scott Elliott)
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